We are committed to developing and advancing women, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, people with disabilities, and other underrepresented populations. Beginning with Mansfield Certification Plus designation to meaningful diversity pipeline recruiting initiatives to mentorship and sponsorship, we seek to train, develop, and promote our talent.
The Mansfield Rule measures whether law firms have affirmatively considered at least 30% women, attorneys of color, LGBTQ+, and lawyers with disabilities in various categories. The Plus designation indicates that in addition to meeting or exceeding the baseline requirements, we have successfully reached at least 30 percent diverse lawyer representation in a notable number of our current leadership roles.
Effective sponsorship and mentorship helps develop talent, facilitates professional development, and enhances the quality of legal representation that we provide to our clients. Many of our lawyers share their, experience, and expertise through our formal sponsorship and mentorship programs. This includes our DEI sponsorship program, which pairs mid-and-senior levels associates with partners in a formalized sponsorship program meant to support advancement into partnership; our partner mentor program, which pairs associates with more experienced attorneys for advice and guidance; our client cross-mentoring program that matches associates with in-house counsel mentors; and our peer liaison program, which matches lateral associates with peers to help with integration.
Hear From Us
Davis Wright's director of practice management, Tanea Foglia explains the importance of the firm's Tech Equity Hub, which she leads and which helps accelerate Black and Latinx women entrepreneurs.
Michael Nguyen, director of attorney talent acquisition, reflects on the importance of a diversity-driven hiring process.
Jaime Drozd, managing partner, recounts how the litigation team has become significantly more diverse and how that benefits clients and the firm.